Closing seacocks

[bffatcat]

I agree with Warren when I owned my pearson 10M I closed them all when I left the boat .
some were tough to get at
But today I know longer have to do that> Reason is my present P26 W has no sea cocks
No head, NO sink, my cockpit scuppers have tubes that are above the water line with triple clamped hoses no sea cocks. suits me My advice: after over 50 years of sailing I believe in murphys law If anything is left unatteded sooner or later STUFF HAPPENS

 

[Ross]

I believe that one of the most important reasons for closing the seacocks is that you get a good look at all of the connections in that area. Each time I go aboard my boat I open all of the seacocks and check for leaks, I look into the bilge. I look for anything that isn't as it should be. After I run the engine for a while at the end of the day I check the oil and wipe down the engine. That way I find leaks before they become big.

 

[Maine Sail]

Not many years ago, I saw a Pearson Triton that had sunk in its slip. After the boat was pumped out and refloated (interesting to watch when it isn't your boat....), I spoke to the surveyor about the cause of the sinking. He believed that the hose clamp on the raw water intake hose had been working its way loose when the engine had been running. He thought the clamp and the hose it held to the seacock then came off when waves jostled the boat in the slip. The raw water intake seacock had been left open. Seems to me that closing seacocks is always going to far easier, no matter how hard that may be, than dealing with your boat after it has sunk....

My old boat, a Catalina 30, the same one I spent a long time fixing and restoring, sunk in 2007 when the new owner left the head seacock open. As you may know the Raritan PH-II head has a smooth non-barbed inlet with only room for one hose clamp (dumb design but I won't go there).

To make a long story short, you guessed it, the hose slid off the inlet to the head and sank the boat. She's been for sale now for a looooong while..... The seacock on that boot took 2 seconds to close and was the result of nothing more than a bad decision..

 

[catsailor]

Only ocationally for exercise... but I should explain.

I've alway been taught to close all seacocks when I'm not on the boat. I just bought a Beneteau 373, and there are seacocks everywhere! Closing all of them when leaving the boat and re-opening them later is quite the task.

I don't mind the ones that are under the galley sink or the head sink, but the engine raw-water intake and the dripless shaft seal seacock are located under the aft berth. Why Beneteau didn't locate them next to the starting battery under the companionway steps, I'll never understand.

What do you guys do on your boats? Do you close all seacocks? Are they as inconveniently located as on the B373?

Xavier

On my PDQ ALL of the sea cocks are located in one sealed compartment. Fully flooded to the water line, it holds ~ 5 gallons. I think the practice is brilliant. I think consideration should be given to making the practice code. That should start an argument!

On our delivery trip in January - and the Chesapeake is cold then - we kept flooding the compartment. Turns out that when the plug was re-fitted for the knot meter after the sea trial the o-ring tore. And because it was in a sealed compartment, no big deal. It took a while to trouble shoot because it would not leak at dock - only when pounding.

 

[Hermit Scott]

Dirving with out insurance, unprotected sex with strangers, leaving seacocks open while away from the boat...some people live on the edge.

 

[Deadhead]

Beneteau 343

On Easy Wind there are 3 seacocks that are accessible by removing the engine cover in the aft cabin. These are the engine raw water intake, the A/C intake, and the shaft bearing. It is a bit if a stretch but I can reach all 3 without dissasembling the rack. I close these everytime I leave. I also close the seacocks on the galley sink, the head sink, and the intake for the head itself. I count to myself as I close each one and know I am done when I get to six.

As Ross says, it gives me the opportunity to inspect my bilge each time I board the boat and open them all.

 

[Creola]

Only 3 reasons to leave seacocks open if leaving boat overnight:
1) forgot
2) lazy
3) want her to sink
Granted, there are times I leave the marina during the day to go get supplies and leave the seacocks open while boat is at marina. Maybe a couple of hours, max, but not overnight by any means. Will your automatic bilge(s) pump out faster than the largest through hull allows water in if there is a breach? Maybe... maybe not.

 

[Dan Johnson]

Chris...

thanks for your suggestion. I will seriously consider trying that the next boat visit. Warren and Maine Sail make strong arguements!

 

[Dalliance]

I only have three seacocks and all are easy to get to. The engine key hangs on the raw water intake seacock in the engine compartment and that seacock is closed unless the engine is running. The other two - galley and head - are opened when I get to the boat on Friday and closed when I leave on Sunday. I've replaced all the hoses, clamps and seacock valves in the last two years, and check them regularly.

Additionally, I have two redundant system bilge pumps - separate switches, float switches, and fuse protected connections to separate batteries. The primary pump is lower in the bilge and is connected to a bilge pump counter to alert me to frequent on-off cycling and send me looking for a minor problem before it becomes a major one. The secondary or backup pump is higher in the bilge, connected to an alarm, and the discharge is positioned to spit water onto the dock. My theory being that anyone hearing an alarm and/or seeing water discharged onto the dock would alert the harbor master or give me a call.

I guess I'm kind of a belt and suspenders guy when it comes to making sure my boat doesn't sink at the dock and become "case #---" described in a Boat U.S article.

 

[Albanach]

After having been assured that double clamping obviates the need for closing seacocks, I had my doubts (being a great believer in mr/mrs Murphy thru years of life experience) and started clsosing all the seacocks. However, as these had never/hardly been worked by the previous owner, could close the toilet outlet valve (which is located in a ridiculous place and nearly cause me to get stuck in the toilet for the duration) only partially. Left it to obtain some leverage next day. When returned next day, shower and adjoining compartments were flooded.

Only positive was that it proved the automatic bilge pump worked.

Replaced the joker valve and fixed problem. However, fixing this started a chain reaction with the various bits' age fatigue. Have now a virtually new toilet and all valves are being closed.

PS : Another example could have been one of the badly chafed raw water hoses that gave in under pressure, but could just as easily have just leaked under normal usage.

 

[BobM]

Just thinking out loud here...but is there anyway you can rig a cable pull, like the choke/kill for an engine...or perhaps a motorcylce throttle or brake cable...to run from the end of the handle to what would end up beign a knob sticking out from under your berth? It would be convenience, but i'd still be sure to either have a flow alarm or to lean over the back and make sure you are blowing water when you start.

 

[Ron20324]

The last time I went out, I reached under the bunk and flipped the seacock handle. Started the motor, but soon heard the sound of something wrong. Seems I had left the seacock open from the previous cruise, and had actually shut it off this time.

A boat does not have to be old for something to fail. At the dock my boat would only sink about a foot before being on the bottom. That's still a bunch of mess and hassle for having just one seacock left open and something pop.

 

[NC-C320]

Engine Thruhull

The engine water hoses do work off sometimes. I always close the five thruhulls on my boat, but several years ago, as I had engine idling and was taking in lines while getting ready to leave pier, the automatic bilge pump came on. This was/is abnormal, so a quick look inside the cabin showed the floor boards covered in water. Investigation showed that one of the raw water hoses on the engine had come off. (The loose connection would not have been obvious unless you went to each clamp and actually tried it with screw driver to confirm tightness).

Inconvenient that it may be, the safest course is to close all thruhulls when away from boat (just my opinion though).

 

[Stu Jackson]

The loose connection would not have been obvious unless you went to each clamp and actually tried it with screw driver to confirm tightness.

Inconvenient? What, opening up and looking at your engine? And checking the hose clamps. Or closing the seacocks? Either way, I just don't get it.

Isn't this enough reason to check those hose connections regularly?

Also, as you said, another good reason to close all seacocks when you leave the boat.

 

[xavierlh1]

Thanks all for the thoughtful replies. I still close all the seacocks but curse the designer who thought under the aft berth was a judicious location; I wonder whether this person ever sailed...

I was considering moving them this winter, but no I'm intrigued by Bob's idea of rigging a cable like that of the throttle to control the through-hull remotely... Another project added to the list...